Friday, January 8, 2010

Pichelsteiner; You Heard Me. It's a Let's Lunch Bunch Stew

When it gets cold, even in California, it's time for Stew! I was more than happy to have a good hearty stew be the choice for this month's "Let's Lunch" bunch (a casual group of folks on Twitter that agree to join in on a virtual lunch-date every month.) For my cozy concoction this month I chose to make a Pichelsteiner; a classic 3 meat German stew that could warm the heart of a glaciated wolverine. My daughter's fiance, Potsch, is from Munich originally. For Christmas Eve I wanted to make him something that would recall his family holidays in Germany. His mom usually makes Beef Goulash (and you never tread on another mother's traditions), so I needed a different Bavarian Classic. I found a wonderful book, Germany Culinaria, that was very detailed about the food cultures and various regions. It had gorgeous pictures of the very places my husband and I visited in Munich last summer when Chris, (Potsch's Uncle) treated us like royalty in his absolutely cozy and beautiful Hotel and Restaurant, Der Tannenbaum. If you ever have the chance to go, let me know; it's one of the friendliest cities I've ever visited. Potsch was thrilled to have Pichelsteiner (which he made sound so great with the accent and everything) and the rest of us certainly ate our share, too. The recipe is very simple, on purpose; no one wants to be stuck in the kitchen cooking while everyone else is having fun in the living room with music, gifts, and laughs. (Beef, Pork, Veal - cubed with Carrots, Celeriac Root, Leeks, Potatoes, Parsley and Stock) One of the best parts about this stew is how well it freezes, or tastes for lunch the next day. Like most stews; it improves with a little time to marinade the flavors. I just know you'll love the stew ideas from the rest of my virtual lunch mates; just go on Twitter and search using the word #LetsLunch (the hash mark denotes a topic of conversation). And maybe you'd like to join us next month. We've made BLT's, Soups, Salads, Left-overs, Desserts and now-- Stews.

Just like the rules of structure and grammar give the needed tension to poetry that really moves us, so does being given a "challenge" for us self-proclaimed gourmands.


{ALSO; a little side note here - One of our spunky #letslunch gals is sitting in a hospital right this minute, and will hopefully read our lunch posts today. Take a moment to check out her cavalcade of recipes and stories at GeoFooding. Sending you a big-blogging-hug, Karen}

Lets Lunch Bloggers:
A Tiger In The Kitchen
Cowgirl Chef
Bon Vivant
The Cosmic Cowgirl
Pinch My Salt
Serve It Forth

RECIPE: PICHELSTEINER
1lb. Pork (cubed)
1lb. Veal (cubed)
1lb. Beef (cubed)
2 Tbls. Clarified butter
1lb. Potatoes (cubed)
2 Leeks (cut in ring slivers)
3 Carrots (cut in thin disks)
1/2 Celeriac Root
32 oz. Meat Stock
1 Tbls. Parsley (chopped)
Salt & Pepper

In a large bowl, combine all the veggies. In another bowl, combine all the meat.
In a large pot, melt the clarified butter on low/med. Add a layer of meat to the bottom of the pot, then a layer of veggies (salt and pepper). Continue to layer the meat, then veggies and seasonings until all is used. Pour the Stock over and just to cover. Heat the stew mixture to a simmer, then cover and cook on low for about 2 hours. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley to serve.
As they say in Munich: An Guadn

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow-never hoyd of it! looks delicious and easy, too.

ATigerInTheKitchen said...

This looks fantastic!! I love the name...and I'd never heard of it! I can't wait to try it... it's got all the ingredients I love. Thanks for sharing... I put it on my blog, too.

Danielle said...

This looks positively divine. If I wasn't so overloaded with meat right now, I'd put it on the menu for Sunday! Love it!

Happy 2010 to you and yours - hope we'll have a chance to meet again this year ;)

Nicole said...

This sounds amazing. I really want to try it (right now)!

Anonymous said...

The Pichelsteiner looks absolutely delicious!! It meant a lot to me, that you went to the lengths to make it for Christmas, Showfood Chef. Yum, Yum, Yum.

Cowgirl Chef said...

OMG, this looks so amazing - and perfect for the snowy, sub-zero days that we've had lately. I'm gonna make it!

Cori said...

Oh yum!

Khali//Bandit and the Scene Stealers said...

Not only was that super yum the day of but when we thawed out the left overs later that week it was even more amazing....mmmmm warm stew.

Hazen Lake said...

I'm a homeless guy and I got online at the library. That's how I found your great looking food. You're also a great looking chef. If you ever need a food taster then I'm your guy. I sleep near the 405 & National but I think I move closer to the ocean. There are some great backyards there. Wherever I am I will be dreaming about your sweets. U'mm good.